August 9, 2022, 7:00 PM
Greer Mortuary, Alameda
Greetings & Opening Prayer
Call to Worship
Greetings to you this evening. I am Don Ng, retired pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco where Jimmy Yee and his family are members. Personally, I have been richly blessed to have had Jimmy Yee in our congregation. Every church pastor would want a Jimmy Yee who was always willing to cook for a church dinner or put out a spread for a reception or know enough connections to make things happen and ready to take a picture for recorded history.
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All of this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…so today we are ambassadors for Christ… (2 Cor. 5:17-18, 20)
On behalf of Nancy and Karen Yee, I welcome you here tonight to remember and celebrate the faithful discipleship of our friend, Jimmy Yee who was born on February 24, 1936 and returned home on July 21, 2022. All of us have a story or two about Jimmy! And we’ll get the opportunity to hear some of them tonight and tomorrow when the funeral service takes place.
Jimmy as a young person was a member of the Emmanuels and eventually when children started coming, the fellowship group named by their advisor, Miss Astrid Peterson became the Emmanuel Family Group. I would venture to guess that Astrid wanted these largely new Americans who initially came from China and Hong Kong to know that wherever life may take them that God is with them. Emmanuel means “God with us” is the promise that in Jesus Christ, God is always near and never ever would forget or abandon us. Jimmy knew this and always trusted God in Christ to be by his side.
Invocation
Let us pray. Creator and Redeemer God, at this time of deeply felt loss, we turn to you for comfort. We glorify you for creating the universe out of nothing and each one of us in your image. We acknowledge your sovereign wisdom in setting limits to our life on earth and for setting before us, through Jesus, our crucified and risen Savior, a limitless life. Being reconciled to you through him, we praise Christ as the divine leader in that ministry of reconciliation in which he expects us to serve as his ambassadors. Today, we see the faithful life of Jimmy Yee as an example of being one of your ambassadors of reconciliation. To Jesus Christ, with you, dear God and the Holy Spirit, be all glory and praise. Amen.
Scripture Reading
Eulogy—Karen Yee
Remembrances by Family/Friends (Reading of Letters)
Bigger than a Mustard Seed
If you want to throw a party, the person you would want on your planning committee is Jimmy Yee! At FCBC, the annual Thanksgiving luncheon or the reception to welcome new members into the Christian fellowship or for a person like me who had a wonderful welcome reception when I came to the church in 1998, Jimmy Yee was the man to call.
He was the chair, the ring leader, the coordinator who empowered the Social Committee to pull off a church party with finesse! Jimmy Yee in his apron whether in the church kitchen or at the church BBQ picnic or at one of the countless Emmanuel Family Group’s monthly fellowships was a guaranteed sight to be seen. He can take one turkey drumstick and multiply it by recruiting many others to roast their turkeys at home to feed hundreds if not thousands over the many years.
In all three of the eyewitness Gospels, Jesus told a Parable of the Mustard Seed. Jesus said,
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Mt. 13:31-34)
When I was thinking about Jimmy Yee, I thought about this parable. Like a mustard seed, small and often seen as insignificant, Jimmy grew in faith and in stature becoming a strong leader like a tree. The tree provides shelter for the birds of the air so that they would have a safe place to bring more baby birds into the world. Like a tall and full tree, Jimmy provided shade from the sun and new and renewing life to begin.
In the first of the Chinatown: Stories of Life and Faith books, Jimmy recorded his life story in 2002, over 20 years ago. In telling his story, he came from modest means growing up with little. When he arrived in the United States as a sixteen years old teenager, he didn’t speak English. After Galileo High School, he wanted to attend Berkeley but couldn’t afford it. He worked multiple jobs at the same time, 7 days a week and probably rarely took a day off. Like a mustard seed, Jimmy’s life was more or less, less. But he never allowed that to be his fate.
Jimmy was grateful for what was his life. He didn’t complain about whatever circumstances came his way. From living in the home of a kind Jewish lady and her family in Pacific Heights as a house-boy, he bought a house in Hayward to have a home with Nancy and Karen. He learned English from this kind woman and not only graduated from Galileo but at one time supervised 300 employees in a printing plant. While he never went to Cal-Berkeley, he made sure that Karen did. He may have toiled like 7 days a week, but he was also a reliable and faithful member of FCBC especially when there’s a party. Like a mustard seed, God blessed Jimmy and his life grew in confidence and humility that made him a trusted leader of people.
Being up the street from Eastern Bakery in Chinatown, one of the favorite sheet cakes for a church reception was coffee crunch cake! Jimmy always had a special fondness in the sheet cakes we had at the church. He liked the frosting and the decorations on it. He often would ask me what the inscriptions on the cake should be. And I would always say, “Whatever you think, Jimmy. I trust you!” There was probably a time or two that I should have told him what to inscribe but for the most part, the cakes were always just what we wanted to celebrate the occasion!
Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed. He was teaching the disciples and the people that God’s kingdom will grow, will nourish, will provide shelter and protection, will be filled with new life.
Jimmy Yee’s life was very much like that. From his amazing generosity, his warm hospitality, his willingness to serve and work hard, his cooking food for the masses, his gratefulness in what was given to him, his life was like a mustard seed. Jimmy Yee helped to expand the kingdom of heaven on earth. To have known Jimmy Yee is to have known God’s grace and embrace.
Let us pray.
Gracious God, in this evening of remembering the faithful and fulfilled life of our friend and your servant, we give thanks. Lord, you breathed life into Jimmy Yee and he walked on this earth always reflecting on your generosity and love for many others. While we may be saddened by his passing, we are also inspired by Jimmy Yee’s life that grew from a mustard seed to becoming a strong and sturdy tree for his family and for all of us to have protection and to enjoy the warm fellowship we have in Christ Jesus. Comfort us tonight as we believe in the coming of a new day to remind us of your wondrous creation of life according to your plans for us. Thank you, O God, for the gift of your Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ who promises us eternal life. In his name, we pray. Amen.
Video Tribute
Announcements/Thanks
There will be a funeral service tomorrow at 10:00 AM led by Rev. Larry Jay, the Executive Director of Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center in North Andover, MA and one of the Young Emmanuels growing up with Karen. Following the service, there will be an interment led by Rev. Chris Otani, Associate Pastor at First Chinese Baptist Church, San Francisco at the Mt. View Cemetery in Oakland and a Memorial Luncheon at Pacific Lighthouse in Alameda. Detail information is listed in your bulletins.
The family has listed charitable organizations that you might wish to give to in memory of Jimmy Yee for which Nancy, Karen and the rest of the family are most grateful.
When you exit, you will be given two small envelopes. The white envelope contains a piece of candy to symbolize sweetness in a bittersweet situation. The red envelope contains a coin for you to buy something on your way home to suggest that you will continue to prosper and to have a healthy life.
Closing Prayer
Beloved, in the midst of sadness, I charge you to rejoice.
Rejoice in hope of sharing the glory of God!
Rejoice tonight believing that our loved one, Jimmy Yee is now in the arms of God!
Rejoice even in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope!
Rejoice above all that this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit! (Romans 5:2-5)
Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.